Mechanical musical i nstruivient



3 ShetsSheet 1.

(No Model.) 8

G. F. WELLS.

MECHANICAL MUSIGAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 393,456. Patented Nov. 27, 1888.

N PETERS PholmLdhagraphcr, Washmgtnn. D. c.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. F. WELLS.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 393,456. Patented Nov. 2'7, 1888.

N. PETERS, Pmcrumo m nen Washingicn. u C.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet a.

G. P. WELLS. MECHANIGAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.- No. 393,456. Patented Nov.27, 1888.

K 3i L MN: 3 e T [1 [II] 1 y F' j iy ' UNITED STATES PATENT GEORGE F.\VELLS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, ASSIGNOR OF OXEIIALF TO MANLEY O. LAVTON, OFSTATEN ISLAND, CALIFORNIA.

MECHANICAL MUSiCAL lNSTRUiVlENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,456, dated November27,1888.

Application filed July 24, 1888. Serial X0. 250,929.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, GEORGE F. WELLs, of San Francisco, San Franciscocounty, State of California, have invent-ed an Improvement in AutomaticMusical Instruments and Motors Therefor; and I hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My in vcntion relates to that class of musical instruments in which astrip of suitable perforated paper is caused to travel over theapertures in the range, said instruments being of the general organ typeand known under the general name of automatic, and my invention relatesespecially to a power apparatus or motor for effecting the travel of theperfo rated music-paper, its proper government, and its rewinding.

The main object of my invention is to provide a motor for this class ofinstruments of such a nature and so operated that without interferencewith the main functions of the pedalsnamely, that of operating thebellowsit shall transmit its power to effect the travel of themusic-paper, permit variation of its rate of speed, and allow for itsproper government and control, so as to give a variation of time to themusic, according to the will and taste of the performer. Other objectsare to provide a simple motor, easily constructed and operated, and ameans for rapidly rcwinding the music-roll.

My invention consists, broadly and essentially,in the combination,withpower-transmitting mechanism by which the travel of the musicpaper iseffected, of a motor of suitable construction, whose operation iseffected by springs, the power of which is instituted and controlled byconnections direct or indirect with the pedals.

My invention further consists, in connection witha motor thus connectedand operated and power-transmitting mechanism to the music roll, ofasuitable speedregulator interposed in the power mechanism, whereby thespeed of the motor may be varied independently of the stroke of thepedals and of the consequent power transmitted to the bellows of theinstrulnent.

My invention also consists in the peculiar (No model.)

and novel construction of the motor, its arrangement in connection withthe pedals, the arrangement of the power-transmitting mechanism, and theconstruction and arrangement of the rewinding mechanism, all of which Ishall hereinafter fully describe by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figurel is an elevation showing the ease of theautomatic instrument, (its front being removed,) and the arrangement ofthe several parts within it. Fig. 2 is avertieal cross-sectionoftheiustrument, showing the motor in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a detailshowing the motor-connection direct with the pedal. Fig. 4 is a planlooking down on the music-paper passing over the range. Fig. 5 is adetail view of the clutch-piece, showing the engage ment of its jaw withthe ilaiige h of the wheel H.

A is the case of the instrument.

B is the music roll holder,on which is wound a strip of perforatedmusic-paper, I), and O is the drum or roller with which the end of themusic-paper is connected, and upon which it is wound as it is drawn offthe holder B, said paper passing over the usual apertures in the rangeD.

E are the feed-boards of the bellows of the instrument, and F are thepedals, which are connected by the usual straps,f, with the feedboards,whereby said boards are moved forward as the pedals are pressed down,said boards moving back under the influence of the springs c, all in theusual manner.

G is a bracket hanging within the frame of the machine from the floor ofthe windchest a, and having journalcd in its lower end the motor-wheelH, said wheel having on each side, near its rim, a flange h. Pivotedwithin the bracket G, on the same center as that on which the wheelrotates, and on each side of the wheel, is an arm, I, to the end ofwhich is pivoted or jointed at i a clutch-piece, J, the inner surface ofwhich, near its end, is provided with a grooved jaw, j, which is adaptedto fit over the flange 7L of the wheel H. The arm Iis provided or formedwith the extension K, through which passes a screw, 7c, the lower end ofwhich liesjust above the clutchpiece J. Said arm I, behind its pivotalcenter, is provided or formed with a lever, L, the upper end of whichpreferably carries a small anti-friction roll, 1, which lies directly infront of the feed board E of the bellows of the instrument. Springs Mare attached at their lower ends to the arms I and to the fixed bracketG at their upper ends.

The operation of this clutch is as follows: As the pedal moves down, andthrough the strap f draws the feed-board E forward, said board comes incontact with the roller Z on the lever L, thereby throwing the saidlever upwardly and moving the arm I,with its clutchpiece J, downwardly.This movement of the clutch piece takes place freely, its jawj slippingon the flange h of the motor-wheel without-engaging it,because the armand its cl utchpiece are then extended to their full length or radius,which is so adjusted that its movement shall take place freely, asmentioned. This movement downward oi the arm I extends the spring M. Assoon as the pedal is relieved and the feed-board E relieves the lever Lthe spring M pulls up on the arm I, which causes the clutch-piece J tomove on itsjoint 1?,thereby attempting to shorten thesradius, whichattempt results in the frictional engagement of its jaw with the flangeh on the wheel and causes the partial rotation of said wheel. Thisrotation continues until the spring M ceases to pull the arm I up; butthe clutchpieee J, being carried a little farther by the wheel, comes incontact with the screw it of the xtension K above, which causes thedisengagement of said piece,'throwing it again to the full radius, andthereby freeing the wheel. A similar operation takes place through theopposite pedal and the clutch-arm on the other side,so that the wheel His given a practically continuous rotation. From the wheel H extends anendless belt, a, to a pulley, N, on a shaft, 0, the end of which carriesa pulley, 0, from which an endless belt, 0, extends to the pulleyp onthe shaft P. On this shaft is a pinion, p, which meshes with the gear 0on the winding-drum 0. Thus the power of the motor is transmitted tosaid drum to wind up the music-paper and draw it across the range. Nowit will be seen that the power of the motor is not directly developed byits connection with the pedals, but by the springs M. The pedals actingupon the clutch-arms only leave the motor-wheel free; but in thusaffecting said arms the power of the springs is developed. By thusapplying the power instead of direct from the pedals or the feed-boardsan opportunity is aflorded for varying and controlling the transmissionof power from the motor without in the least affecting the full primaryfunction .of the pedalsnamely, that of operating the bellows. If themotor were so arranged that its wheel H were rotated by the directmovement of the pedals or the feedboards E, it is obvious that anyattempt to vary the speed of the motor would result in a variation ofthe power applied to the bellows. This is not desirable. On thecontrary, the end to be reached is to separate the two functions of thepedals in such a manner that the power transmitted to the music-papercan be varied and controlled to give a variation of time to the music atthe same time that the full power of the pedals may be transmitted tothe bellows in order to maintain the volume of wind and consequentsound. By the arrangement of motor which I have here shown the resul tis perfectly accom plished, for the connection of the clutch-arms withthe feed-boards or with the pedals is a loose one, and adapted in thefirst instance to develop only such power of the springs M as may beneeded for the greatest speed of the motor. Then by checking the motorby any suitable regulator or governor the speed of the musicpaper may beproperly Varied, and this check on the motor does not interfere with themain function of the pedals, nor does it interfere with the perfectoperation of the motor itself, which is of such a character that itworks satisfactorily wltether the wheel H be engaged by a longer orshorter stroke of the clutch-arms.

One form of speed-regulator I have here shown and will now describe. Onthe other end of the shaft P is a pulley, p from which a belt, 1),extends to the pulley q on the shaft g, which carries the fiy-wheel Q.The shaft g has a crank, q which is connected with a smallbellows-governor, R. The details of this governor I need not hereindescribe, as it formed the subject-matter of my application for patent,SerialNo. 273,720, filed May 12, 1888, said governor, however, standingfor and representing any suitable form of speedregulator. This governorcarries a brakeblock, 1', which is adapted to work up against theflywheel Q, and as the speed of the motor tends to increase, thebrake-block comes in contact with the fiy-wheel and checks it, and viceversa, the governor being regulated by the sliding valve 1''. Now itwill be seen that by so regulating the governor by means of its valve asto permit a certain rate of speed a check is imposed upon the movementof the motor-wheel H below 5 but this check does not affect the otherfunction of the pedalsnamel y, that of operating the bellowsfor the fullstroke may be still imparted to the bellows and a smaller stroke appliedto the clutch mechanism, which, however, operatcs as perfectly as when agreater stroke was applied to it; and so by regulating the governor toanother point the motor is affected without affecting the bellows, andit will thus be seen that the full power of the bellows may bemaintaincd,while the travel of the music-paper may be varied at the willof the operator, thus giving a variation of time to the music.

In Fig. 3 Ishow the motor as being directly connected with the pedal bymeans of a flexible connecting-strap, S, joining the pedal with theextension K of the arm I. IVhen this is used, the lever L may beomitted, and it will readily be seen that the same operation asheretofore described takes place. By placing the motor between or justin front of the feed- ICO IIO

boards E and down near the pedals I find it best, in order to avoid aninconvenient arrangement of the power-transmitting devices and aconsequent waste of power, to carry the belt it directly through thewind chest a. This I do by placing within the chest a two hollow posts,a, and running the belt a through said posts. I am thus enabled to reachthe work above in the shortest space.

In order to rewind the music paper upon holder B from drum 0, I have thefollowing: Upon the shaft I is fixed the pin T, and also mounted uponthe said shaft loosely, so that it may slide longitudinally, is apulley, U, having in its side next to the fixed pin a groove or notch,a, which, when the pulley is forced over, engages said pin, therebyconnecting it with the shaft I. The pulley U is operated by a bell-cranklever, V, connected with the stop 1), and from said pulley extends anendless belt, a, to a pulley, XV, upon the axis of the holder B. Whenthe pulley U is thrown into engagement with the shaft P, so as tocommunicate rotation in a reverse direction to the holder B, the pinionp, which engages the gear 0 of the drum 0, must be thrown out ofengagement with said gear, so as to free the shaft from it, and for thispurpose I have the following: The shaft P is so mounted at its pinionend as to have a slight backward and forward movement, sufficient tocarry its pinion into and outof engagement with the gear 0. This is doneby carrying the shaft in a short arm, :0, of a bell-crank lever, X,which is pivoted at 00. Its long or horizontal arm x extends forwardly,and is curved downwardly over roller, Y, which is on the end of a longpivoted lever, y, engaged by a finger, 11, extending downwardly from thestop n. Now, by pulling out said step the first effect is to turn thebell-crank lever X so as to move the shaft 1? back and carry its pinionout of engagement, and its next effect is to throw the rewindingmechanism into operation, as heretofore described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

ll In an automatic musical instrument, and in combination with itspedals and its windingdrum for receiving the music-paper, a n10- torcomprising a rotary wheel and vibrating clutches, a spring for operatingsaid motor, a connection with the pedals for developing the power of thespring, and power-transmitting connections between said motor andwindingdrum, substantially as herein described.

2. In an automatic musical instrument, and in combination with itspedals and its winding-drum for receiving the music-paper, a springactuated motor having vibrating clutches, a loose connection with thepedals for developing the power of the spring without interference withthe primary function of said pedals, and power-transmitting connectionsbetween said motor and winding-drum, substantially as herein described.

3. In an automatic musical instrument, and in combination with itspedals and its winding-drum for receiving the music-paper, a motorcomprising a rotary wheel and vibrating clutches, a spring for operatingit, a loose connection with the pedals for developing the power of thespring without interference with the primary function of said pedals,powertransmitting connections between the motor and the winding drum,and a speed-regulator forgoverningthemotor,subslantiallyhereindescribed.

4. In an automatic musical instrument. and in combination with itspedals and its winding drum for receiving the musicpaper, a motorcomprising a rotary wheel and vibrating clutches engaging the wheel,springs for operating the clutches to rot ate the wheel, connectionswith the pedals for returning them and developing the power of thesprings, and connections from the motor-wheel to the winding-druin,substantially as herein described.

5. In an automatic musical instrument, and in combination with itspedals and its winding-drum for receiving the music-paper, a motorcomprising a rotary wheel and vibrating clutches engaging it, springsfor operating the clutches to rotate the wheel, connections with thepedals for returning them and developing the power of the springs, powermechanism from said wheel to the windingdrum, and a speed-regulator letinto said power mechanism, substantially as herein described.

'6. In an automatic musical instrument, and in combination with itspedals, its bellows feed-boards connected therewith,an l itswinding-drum for receiving the music paper, a motor comprising a rotarywheel, vibrating clutches engaging the wheel, springs for operating theclutches to rotate the wheel, a contactconnection between the bellowsfeedboards and the clutches for returning them and developing the powerof the springs, and power-transmitting mechanism between said wheel andthe winding-drum, substantially as herein described.

7. In an automatic musical instrument, the vibrating pedals and thebellows feed-boards connected therewith, in combination with the rotarywheel having side flanges, the pivoted arms having clutch-piecesjoi ntedthereto, with jaws for engaging the flanges of the wheel and extensionswith set-screws for releasing the clutch -pieces, levers L, extendingfrom the arms and operated by the bellows feed-boards, and springs M,connected with the arms for drawing them up and turning the wheel,substantially as herein described.

8. In an automatic musical instrument, and in combination with themusicpaper holder and the windingdruni, on which the paper is received,means for rewinding the paper upon the holder, consisting of the fixedpin on the power-shaft, the grooved sliding pulley on said shaft,adapted to engage the pin, the lever V and the stop 2), for moving thesliding pulley, the pulley on the paper-holder axis, and the IIO endlessbelt connecting the sliding pulley with the holder-pulley, substantiallyas herein described.

9. In an automatic musical instrument, the music-paper holder, thewinding-drum C, having the gear 0, and the movable power-shaft P, havingthe pinion 1), adapted to be thrown into or out of engagement with thegear on the winding-drum, in combination with the bellcrank lever X,roller Y, lever 3 and stop 1;, for effecting the disengagement ot' thepinion and gear, and the rewinding mechanism consisting of a fixed pinon the power-shaft, the grooved loose pulley U, adapted to engage saidpin, the lever V and stop '0, for operating the sliding pulley, thepulley YV on the paperholder, and the endless belt between the twopulleys, substantially as herein described.

10. In an automatic musical instrument, the wind-chest, the winding-drumabove the Wind- 20 chest for receiving the musicpaper, and a 1110- torbelow the wind-chest for operating the winding-drum, in combination withthe endless belt at of the power-transmitting connections between themotor and the winding- 25 drum, and the hollow posts in the wind-chestfor leading the endless belt through it, substantially as hereindescribed.

in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE F. WELLS.

Witnesses:

S. H. Nounsn, H. 0. LEE.

